No reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystonia

BackgroundThe structural brain abnormalities associated with idiopathic dystonia (ID) remain inadequately understood. Previous voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies examining whole-brain gray matter (GM) volume alterations in patients with ID have reported inconsistent and occasionally contradictory...

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Main Authors: Zhen-Yu Wang, Fei Chen, Hai-Hua Sun, Hua-Liang Li, Jian-Bin Hu, Zhen-Yu Dai, Shu Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Neurology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1510115/full
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author Zhen-Yu Wang
Fei Chen
Hai-Hua Sun
Hua-Liang Li
Jian-Bin Hu
Zhen-Yu Dai
Shu Wang
author_facet Zhen-Yu Wang
Fei Chen
Hai-Hua Sun
Hua-Liang Li
Jian-Bin Hu
Zhen-Yu Dai
Shu Wang
author_sort Zhen-Yu Wang
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThe structural brain abnormalities associated with idiopathic dystonia (ID) remain inadequately understood. Previous voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies examining whole-brain gray matter (GM) volume alterations in patients with ID have reported inconsistent and occasionally contradictory findings.MethodsWe performed a coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) using the latest seed-based d mapping with permutation of subject images (SDM-PSI) technique to identify consistent GM alterations in patients with ID at the whole-brain level. Additionally, meta-regression analyses were conducted to explore the potential moderating effects of age, gender, and disease duration on GM volume.ResultsThe CBMA incorporated 27 VBM studies, comprising 32 datasets with a total of 840 patients with ID and 834 healthy controls. Our analysis did not identify consistent or reliable GM alterations in patients with ID. The robustness of these findings was confirmed through a jackknife sensitivity analysis. Meta-regression analyses revealed that disease duration significantly influenced GM volume in the right insula.ConclusionBased on the best practice guidelines for CBMA, we utilized the most recent SDM-PSI algorithm to perform a new CBMA that included a larger group of individuals with ID. However, in contrast to previous CBMAs, we did not observe any consistent alterations in GM in ID. The findings suggest that using GM volume assessed by VBM as an imaging marker for ID may not be reliable. This could be attributed to ID being a functional disorder, or the inconsistency in GM alterations may be influenced by demographic and clinical variations, differences in imaging protocols and analysis methods, or small sample sizes. It is imperative to control for subject characteristics, employ standardized VBM methodologies, and enhance sample sizes in future research.
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spelling doaj-art-c6a6834b90bd448183ecb28a810f9f6b2025-08-20T02:54:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952025-03-011610.3389/fneur.2025.15101151510115No reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystoniaZhen-Yu Wang0Fei Chen1Hai-Hua Sun2Hua-Liang Li3Jian-Bin Hu4Zhen-Yu Dai5Shu Wang6Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, Yancheng, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, Yancheng, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, Yancheng, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, Yancheng, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, Yancheng, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, Yancheng, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, Yancheng, ChinaBackgroundThe structural brain abnormalities associated with idiopathic dystonia (ID) remain inadequately understood. Previous voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies examining whole-brain gray matter (GM) volume alterations in patients with ID have reported inconsistent and occasionally contradictory findings.MethodsWe performed a coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) using the latest seed-based d mapping with permutation of subject images (SDM-PSI) technique to identify consistent GM alterations in patients with ID at the whole-brain level. Additionally, meta-regression analyses were conducted to explore the potential moderating effects of age, gender, and disease duration on GM volume.ResultsThe CBMA incorporated 27 VBM studies, comprising 32 datasets with a total of 840 patients with ID and 834 healthy controls. Our analysis did not identify consistent or reliable GM alterations in patients with ID. The robustness of these findings was confirmed through a jackknife sensitivity analysis. Meta-regression analyses revealed that disease duration significantly influenced GM volume in the right insula.ConclusionBased on the best practice guidelines for CBMA, we utilized the most recent SDM-PSI algorithm to perform a new CBMA that included a larger group of individuals with ID. However, in contrast to previous CBMAs, we did not observe any consistent alterations in GM in ID. The findings suggest that using GM volume assessed by VBM as an imaging marker for ID may not be reliable. This could be attributed to ID being a functional disorder, or the inconsistency in GM alterations may be influenced by demographic and clinical variations, differences in imaging protocols and analysis methods, or small sample sizes. It is imperative to control for subject characteristics, employ standardized VBM methodologies, and enhance sample sizes in future research.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1510115/fullidiopathic dystoniavoxel-based morphometrygray mattercoordinate-based meta-analysisseed-based d mapping
spellingShingle Zhen-Yu Wang
Fei Chen
Hai-Hua Sun
Hua-Liang Li
Jian-Bin Hu
Zhen-Yu Dai
Shu Wang
No reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystonia
Frontiers in Neurology
idiopathic dystonia
voxel-based morphometry
gray matter
coordinate-based meta-analysis
seed-based d mapping
title No reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystonia
title_full No reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystonia
title_fullStr No reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystonia
title_full_unstemmed No reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystonia
title_short No reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystonia
title_sort no reliable gray matter alterations in idiopathic dystonia
topic idiopathic dystonia
voxel-based morphometry
gray matter
coordinate-based meta-analysis
seed-based d mapping
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1510115/full
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